[CENSORED BY TERFS] When the hate becomes personal: my experience with TERF harassment

NOTE:

What you are about to read is a CENSORED version of the original post. This TERF has been attempting to censor all online content which exposes her as the troll who was targeting a suicidal trans women. Being privileged, this TERF has an attorney working to censor any online evidence the trans community posts which documents the facts.

HERE is the content from Cristan Williams’ site that was censored. Here is the post that was originally on this page. HERE is the proof that this person acted to have this page censored.

Social Context

Studies show that the trans population lives under extreme psychological pressures unseen in even active military personnel. Fifty-five percent of trans people were found to live with social anxiety. Within the general American population, similar types of anxiety are experienced by only 6.8% of the population while these levels of anxiety were found to exist at a rate of 8.2% among military personal.

Transgender and gender variant persons are frequently harassed and discriminated against when seeking housing or applying to jobs or schools, are often victims of violent hate crimes, and face challenges in marriage, adoption and parenting rights.

Discrimination and lack of equal civil rights is damaging to the mental health of transgender and gender variant individuals. For example, gender-based discrimination and victimization were found to be independently associated with attempted suicide in a population of transgender individuals, 32% of whom had histories of trying to kill themselves, and in the largest survey to date of gender variant and transgender people 41% reported attempting suicide.

The APA joins other organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, in endorsing strong policy statements deploring the discrimination experienced by gender variant and transgender individuals and calling for laws to protect their civil rights.

The National Institute of Health defines Social Anxiety Disorder as being characterized by a, “… persistent, intense, and chronic fear of being watched and judged by others and feeling embarrassed or humiliated by their actions. This fear may be so severe that it interferes with work, school, and other activities and may negatively affect the person’s ability to form relationships.”

TERFs and the Social Context: The History

Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism (TERF) is a branch of “feminism” that acts to destroy the patriarchy by destroying the reality of trans women. The TERF movement attempted to do exactly this advocating for a national program of forced repetitive therapy, legislating trans people out of existence and successfully having access to trans medical and psychological care effectively banned in the United States.[1, 2] The historical TERF movement was as unrelenting as it was cruel. Whether by intention or design, TERFs have been exceedingly skilled in leveraging the above social context.

After the members of the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) and the Queens Liberation Front (QLF) started the Stonewall Riot and funded the post-stonewall legal fight, TERFs began a campaign to politicize the fact that trans people could use the correct restrooms at New York City Hall[3]. Unsurprisingly, trans people were stripped from the equality protections their money and attorneys had been fighting for since Stonewall. During the 1973 Christopher Street Liberation Day post-parade rally, trans people were excluded from participation due to TERF objections. Over TERF objections, a member of the STAR took to the stage and implored the gathered to think of themselves as one community and that we should actually care for our homeless, abused and wrongfully jailed. A TERF took the stage immediately afterward to assert that transwomen were men and should know their place. The STAR member went home and in despair, attempted suicide. The name of that STAR member was Sylvia Revara.

My Experience

On October 1, 2013 my university employer asked me, “Remember when you warned me that Cathy Brennan may contact your employer due to a magazine article I was interviewed in? Well, she just contacted us.” Fortunately, I had warned him about Brennan just the week before that this might happen because I was interviewed by Bitch Magazine and thought that she might retaliate by attempting to silence me or get me fired.

I logged into my campus work computer from home and opened the email Brennan sent. I received a direct copy of it as I am on the abuse/security alias due to working in the Office of Information Security. I am sure Brennan didn’t realize that. I read the email and began shaking. It was full of libelous remarks about me. It hadn’t even sunk in yet that my coworkers also received this as well as our campus police department and the registrar’s office (really? the registrar?).

Disclaimer, there is no need to redact her contact information as she posts this all over the Internet.

I was in shock after reading this. The more this soaked in the more of a panicky feeling I got. I told my boss I couldn’t come to work that day. Among other libelous claims, included was an outrageous lie that I had harassed her about rape.

I went to work the next day and when I walked into my suite it hit me that my coworkers saw these lies and I wondered if they believed in them. I suddenly had a full-blown panic attack. I wondered if I was about to lose a long-term job that I absolutely adored. I wondered if my employer might buy into this monster narrative[4, 5, 6] our culture so enjoys. I felt violated; I can’t express to you the level of gut-wrenching anxiety her lies inspired. The panic seemed to go on and on without end. Wave after wave of anxiety crashed through me. It was as if she had reached out and desecrated what had once been a source of safety and pride.

And that was only the beginning of a coordinated attempt to engineer the ruination of both my reputation and my carrier. In the middle of an extended panic attack, none other than Janice Raymond – the very TERF that engineered the death of trans healthcare in America – contacted my employer, supporting Brennan’s narrative. On top of that, another of Brennan’s supporters – an infamous internet troll – contacted my employer as well. At this point, the panic was omnipresent, eclipsing all else. I could no longer function and was forced to take medical leave. Later in October I was diagnosed with acute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Their coordinated attack changed everything. The trauma they inflicted isn’t visible. They didn’t break my legs, they merely broke my spirit. Unlike a simple broken bone, the type of violence they inflicted is especially cruel because PTSD forces me to relive the trauma they caused over and over again.

I am trying my best to learn how to cope with this debilitating condition and am currently on medical leave from work. I never know when an episode is going to hit me. Sometimes there are identifiable triggers and sometimes it just happens out of the blue. In each case I feel good one minute then just seconds later the PTSD is so horrific that it is unbearable. I’m trying to learn how to manage it, especially when the PTSD is particularly bad. I found that reaching out can sometimes help. Also, if it gets to be unbearable, I attempt to seek help.

In February I checked myself into the emergency room because the trauma was totally overwhelming. In the moment, I saw no relief in sight and at the time, death almost seemed preferable to the hell I was experiencing. I tweeted about what was going on and I also reached out to a few folks on FaceBook to let them know what was going on.

When next I visited my doctor, he attempted to hold under observation for a few days because he said he had been informed that I was planning a suicide attempt. I asked if the person who contacted him was Cathy Brennan. He said it was. On top of everything Brennan, had almost managed to have me held against my will for days in a psych ward because I was suffering with PTSD her behavior caused.

Worse, an anonymous tipster contacted my job’s security team, the campus police. The campus police then took the issue to my boss’s boss. The information supplied to campus police was similar to the tip supplied to my doctor and it is my belief that the anonymous tipster was none other than Cathy Brennan. If that is true, Brennan has managed to involve my co-workers, my boss, my boss’s boss, my employer’s security team, the university registrar’s office and my doctor in her harassment of me. It should be noted that prior to all of this I had asked her to leave me alone and to cease any and all contact with me.

Facing the hate

This is an image capture of a comment made by @gallusmag that shows those who favored her tweet. Note that TERF NAME CENSORED, writer for the Huffington Post and author of a transmisogynistic article on Counter Punch liked the tweet.

While I don’t recall ever claiming that I was planning on killing myself, according to TERF NAME CENSORED I had taken to twitter to dramatize the various ways I was going to off myself because I was playing some sort of abusive political game.

Then, of course, TERFs began the mocking and gaslighting dog-pile:

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Writing this article has been a somewhat triggering ordeal for me but it had to be done. I was told that my treatment for PTSD will be Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which means being exposed to what caused my trauma over and over again. For me, this article was therapeutic in that I’m not only recounting what happened, I’m also reaching out to those who may have suffered some similar abuse from the TERF movement.

I can see now that asking Cathy Brennan to just leave me alone doesn’t work. With the support of my friends and therapist, I am pursing legal means to ensure that she leaves me alone. At times I’m overcome with the shear hate that the TERF movement embraces. More often than not, these moments are followed by crippling PTSD.

However, I know that I’m not the only person who’s faced this level of enmity. If you’ve suffered because of similar attacks, I’d love to hear from you. I want you to know that you’re not alone and I also want you to know that it’s possible to fight back in a way that will stop the abuse. In the coming months, I will post updates on the progress I’ve had and share any successes I have in stopping the abuse.

*hugs* to you. That’s all I can really offer. That and the CBT is probably for the best. I know it sounds horrific, but in my experience, the more you fear those things, the more power they have. Hope you find catharsis, strength and resolve. Thank you for writing this article.

Vexing

Hi Dana,

I’m sorry to hear what happened to you at the hands of the TERFS.
We didn’t always see eye-to-eye in the past but I have a lot of respect for you as an activist.

Like you I was attacked by TERFS and it came out of nowhere. I had a personal surgery blog that I’d set up so friends and family could monitor my progress through my SRS. It was found by radfems and it was destroyed, page by page, here:

If you read through the whole thing, then read the comments, you’ll probably be able to guess my reaction to all of it. Please note the comments advocating the murder of trans women and okaying violence towards trans women.

I have also been personally targeted by Cathy Brennan and the now shut-down ‘Mansplainin & Transplainin’ blog. There is a profile on Cathy’s ‘Pretendbians’ website with my real name and details about my work and personal life (i.e. where I live).

I really don’t know what to say about the abuse, bullying and stalking leveled at me from this group. I’m loathe to do more than state facts as I don’t want to give them further weapons to use against me.

All I will say is that I’m still scared. I don’t have a Facebook account under my real name and I can’t have any kind of Business profile (linkedin, personal website etc) for fear of them finding it and stalking me.

The TERFs are professional bullies and need to be stopped.

BethanyAnne

I have noticed that every time Brennan starts trying to get another innocent bystander to join her on a train to CrazyTown, she makes sure to preface the letter with “I am a lesbian…”. That way, when the sane person decides not to join her, she can chalk it up to homophobia, instead of basic human decency.

First of all, allow me to send you my condolences and wish you a fast recovery. Speaking as someone who also suffers from PTSD, I wanted to chime in to say that you are better than that; being the victim of a terrorist.

I am a former MP with the US Army and an OIF veteran. But I’ve also faced a life of not just bullying, but the struggles of accepting who I am; just as I am sure you have. Let me tell you straight up. If you have gone thru just half of what I have, then you are more than strong enough to endure what some small minded hypocrite says and does.

Sure I may be diagnosed suicidal but I’m also too stubborn to kill myself and allow the world the satisfaction; I want to see how this story ends. The point is you’ve seen too much history unfold in your own life and with the world beginning to finally change their opinions; do you really want to miss that?

Hang in there and fight back by living life. You are a voice that needs to add to the rest of ours; for you are loved. Best wishes… Gadg

Maybe I should look at staying alive as a big middle finger fuck you to this hateful “group”.

Gadgett

That’s pretty much the way I look at it. People like this (Get some sick satisfaction?) in people like us committing suicide. Well the way I look at it, I am here for myself and to make the world a better place. Not for their own sick twisted entertainment and I refuse to be that.

Just hang in there and if you ever need someone to just talk to let me know. I’m tend to be an easy ear to chew on if needed. Plus, I don’t know if it would help or not, but the army has a simply saying when it comes to times like these, “Embrace the suck” Nothing is going to change it and everyone has to go thru it. So embrace it for what it is, drink water and move out. Don’t let people like that win. ^.^

Lee

I often feel as though my vitriolic response to TERFs is unfair or unwarranted, but for me, the root of my anger is personal. I was convinced, via concepts they helped popularize, that me not feeling as though I was a girl was a misogynistic form of self-hate, a wish to deny my true, superior, cis-female nature. It was only in the past few years when I was able to recognize that me acknowledging my authentic self was not the source of the self-hate. In fact, it was this cissexist ideology that made me hate myself.

Yet if it were only about me, I would not have the emotional investment that I do. I’m a sufferer of PTSD and panic disorder as well. I do not want more people to suffer illness because of some people’s relentless hate, which they may genuinely believe to be “radical.” When I read stories like these, I feel that emotional pain, because I am an empathetic person and I cannot choose to be otherwise. I cannot stand to see others suffer in the name of feminism! Believe me, this is not what Pippi Longstocking or Wonder Woman would have fought for.

Thank you so much for speaking out in this way. Hopefully, continued exposure of their abusive behavior will remove their ideology from the mainstream.

Deanna B.

No offense, but this story makes no sense IMHO. How would Cathy Brennan, who lives in a different state and city, know that you had checked into an emergency room and then had enough information to track down your specific doctor to tell him things? What, do you think she had secret agents stationed around to see where you go and more agents inside the hospital? And why do you think that the registrar’s office is conspiring against you?

And your response to her email also makes no sense. You immediately think that everyone has read it and now your job is threatened? Why? Your employer didn’t care. You don’t say that a single co-worker mentioned it or treated you differently in any way. You don’t apparently even ask anyone if they had read it. But you go on disability and then claim PTSD? How can there be PTSD if no one cared about this stupid email and nothing happened as a result of it?

Sounds more like you are trying to create sort of record to use in a lawsuit against her. But since the story itself makes no sense, the record you are trying to create is useless.

Omg, Dana, i don’t know you and my sympathy might not be much, but i’m so sorry for what these horrible people have done to you.
This i so inhumane so i cannot famthom it.
I don’t even know what to say, i’m just so chocked and horrifyed by it all.
These people should srsly be in jail or prison (sorry, i don’t know what the exact differance is).
If i can do anything to help you with anything then please just ask, i will help you in any way i can.

Elizabeth Hungerford

DLT, I hope you are feeling better. As you know, I generally don’t get involved in personal stuff (for many reasons), but I agree that Brennan was wrong to contact your employer. I don’t support this tactic. At all.

The reason for my comment, however, is to ask that you provide some evidence for the following claim:

“In the middle of an extended panic attack, none other than Janice Raymond – the very TERF that engineered the death of trans healthcare in America – contacted my employer, supporting Brennan’s narrative.”

BTW, I am not feeling better. On disability leave and no longer the owner of my own life. If Cathy signs the cease and desist I can start healing.

ursprung

This is an entirely ridiculous and fictitious article.

First TERF NAME CENSORED is not a TERF, nor a radical feminist. Also, I read the tweets that you sent out on Twitter. Gallus Mag was responding to the ridiculous nature of your threatening suicide online WHILE you were harassing her. TERF NAME CENSORED responses above reflects the incredulous nature of your harassing someone while stating you are suicidal. To anyone online if you are suicidal you should get help–exactly as TERF NAME CENSORED states above. But if you continue to troll someone on Twitter your cries of suicide will simply not be taken seriously.

You have created this drama yourself and it would seem for yourself.

christian_transgender

Your participation is welcome, and everyone is entitled to disagree because only by sitting down at the table can the possibility of reconciliation occur. It is my hope that no one arrives at a point where ending life is preferable to living life. Personal tragedy affects many in a sphere of proximity.

Even though I am trans, I have much in common with LGB persons such that I consider myself an ally and I am vehemently opposed to uncivil conduct in whatever degree since all this ever does is escalate any point of contention. Harassment falls within the scope of uncivil conduct and when it is levied against someone, no matter who, without supporting details it has no value. What conduct exactly occurred that is deserving of being considered as harassment?

First, all TERFs don’t identify as TERFs. Secondly, TERF NAME CENSORED stance on transgender people, specifically trans women kind of puts her into the TERF bucket. Let me guess, anti-trans “feminists” are able to define us but we can’t define back?

And please tell me how I harassed TERF NAME CENSORED? I went back and couldn’t find it. Oh, you mean the links I sent her after she fav’d a joke about me wanting to kill myself and then said the crap above? A link to a page I had to update with proof?

All day long we are accused of “bullying” yet I rarely see the actual bullying take place. Please share your definition of bullying. Thank you.

ursprung

I favorite tons of stuff I dislike and i follow even more people I dislike. Favoriting is not indicative of being in agreement. You are cherry picking what you show here and TERF NAME CENSORED posts were clear, if you are suicidal you get help, you don’t go to Twitter to troll people. And TERF NAME CENSORED is not anti-trans and identifies as queer and has fought for transgender rights. You have written an article with zero facts and a lot of lies. To boot, what you have cited above is simply not bullying. If you are suicidal the last place you should be is online, and certainly not Twitter. And yes, threatening to commit suicide while trolling people is abusive. I cannot disagree with these statements. That is what this person has stated and your trying to make a drama of this is dishonest.

By the way, the creator of this blog, @transadvocate, favorited a tweet by TERF NAME CENSORED just yesterday. It is a tweet I am sure that @transadvocate does not like, a critique of the heteronormativity of a photo s/he posted. People favorite all sorts of things to note them, to bookmark them. There is just no harassment here in this specific instance. But it is clear that you do have issues with depression and I do sincerely hope you resolve that offline.

You seemed to have missed the point here. She fav’d the tweet and explained herself. I know you are able to write but can you read? I did NOT threaten anyone with suicide. I have PTSD and was in a horrific episode where I felt being dead was better. What the F happened to your heart? You come here to harass me and tell me what I should or shouldn’t do and defend a person who was making fun of my wish to be dead?

ursprung

People favorite tweets all the time to bookmark them. I do as well. And yeah, I know how to read. And I read the tweets which clearly explain that if you have emotional health issues, you shouldn’t be on Twitter but seek mental health experts. I see nothing wrong with what this person has written. Your trying to misrepresent tweets that we can all read is dishonest. And no, I am not here to harass you just like those tweets were not telling you to die. They were saying the opposite: seek help. I have read them and reread them. Your becoming abusive and aggressive here is not appreciated. i am responding to an article which misrepresents Tweets and people. It is just unkind and unethical. I am sorry you have PTSD problems and I do sincerely hope you get the help you so obviously need.

sinmantyx

Please stop.

1. Gallus Mag is an extremely abusive person. I have personally documented her behavior on twitter and it is abhorrent, and includes targeting trans women with transphobic ridicule. She is, very much, a TERF.

2. I discussed the situation with Virgo on twitter, and at no point did she say that she was favoriting the tweet to bookmark it. She instead attempted to defend herself by accusing Dana of pretending to be suicidal for political purposes and talking about “context”. So, you’re defense of her is just simply made up. (By the way, I attached some context.)

3. Dana is not becoming “abusive and aggressive here” by defending herself against your accusations or your unsolicited criticism of how she copes with her (documented, by the way) mental health condition. You are the one being unreasonable, and you should be ashamed.

4. If you think that an appropriate response to someone expressing suicidal ideation on a social media platform, or in person for that matter, is to ridicule them and accuse them of faking, I suggest you seek mental health experts and ask their opinion about that.

5. I suspect that you don’t want to believe that some feminists, particularly popular ones, are sometimes awful. That doesn’t magically make the problematic things that they do and say magically disappear or your made-up rationalizations for their behavior true.

6. If you find the story unbelievable because you don’t think that having people at your work (that you rely on for your living) being sent some e-mails, outing you as a minority that is routinely subject to harassment and violence (especially when you have personal experience of that) and accusing you of horrible things (knowing that they may think of you differently); you either don’t have a very strong sense of empathy or you simply have never had someone target you like this before in your life, so you have no clue.

Holy shit. This is horrifying. I’m shaking with rage right now. I can’t understand the level of hate that would motivate someone to conduct such an extreme campaign of terror. And we’ve seen it over and over, as TERFs and their allies actually encourage trans women to attempt suicide and gloat about their success in destroying a person’s security and mental health. I’ve both witnessed and been the victim of several types of discrimination and hate, from fundamentalist Christians to MRAs, but I have NEVER seen the level of viciousness and sheer sociopathic glee in destroying lives that the TERFs regularly display.
I am so sorry. That feels pathetic; I wish there was more that I could do than offer trite sympathy. But these tactics have succeeded, I suppose, in making me very nervous about acting. I want to help in whatever way possible, but I also don’t want to cause any more pain or make it worse…I’m a lot less worried about my actions coming back to hurt me, and a lot more worried that I might antagonize Brennan and her crew into continuing or escalating their campaign of terror with someone else. I would hate to be the cause of more destruction and pain. And it leaves me at a loss to know what to do, beyond a personal commitment to a no-tolerance policy towards TERFs (or those that support/condone TERFs).
Thank you for sharing your story. I know it couldn’t have been easy. But I know that it will help other victims of these attacks, and will educate those who may be on the fence or who don’t understand the evil of the TERF movement. You’re an incredibly brave woman. And again, I want to help however I can. I also have PTSD, social anxiety, and experience chronic depression. I’ve attempted suicide and been held for observation a few times. And I’ve gone through some online harassment–though certainly nothing compared to the psychological warfare they engaged in with you. If you need to talk, if you need support, please feel free to message me.

That is very kind of you to offer support for me. #solidarity on the PTSD and anxiety.

And yes, the attacks are as bad or worse than what MRAs do. It is absolutely bizarre that anyone who identifies as a feminist can launch the kind of attacks I have received. To try and actually destroy my life? Make fun of me wanting to kill myself? And her followers of bigots defend her every move. It is truly disgusting and inhumane. But there is the deal. I don’t think they even consider us human.

Their bigotry removes all basic human emotions towards trans women. No empathy, no compassion and no remorse. And I truly think they do enjoy our misery.

Our community has the highest murder/suicide/abuse rate of any minority yet they continue to attacks us.

christian_transgender

Laws, both civil and criminal come into play when one is harassed, stalked, or threatened. If a threat is implied or communicated, a violation, typically a felony, has occurred were the recipient to fear for her life. If an employer is notified of off-duty irrelevant information that doesn’t violate company policy, this is harassment and civilly culpable. There are limitations for an employer’s “need to know” relating to outside of the workplace strife or squabbles, particularly when one of the players is not under the employer’s sphere of influence as an employee. Employers are entitled to correspondence relating to an employee’s omission or commission relating to job role and task expectations such as customer service, delivery of product, or job role competence. Never is this to extend to mediation over off-site, personal squabbles, never. The employer lacks jurisdictional authority over outside-jurisdiction personal conversation.

My perspective is that activism for the purpose of constructive advancement of a disenfranchised group is rather noble, whether gay, lesbian or transgender. This is attached to my perspective that being on the receiving end of abuse by straight people is understandable, although unacceptable. Being on the receiving end of abuse by gay or lesbian activists, if and when it may or does occur, is unforgivable. This is nothing less than internecine psychological warfare.

If in fact that email to your employer did occur, it is egregiously deplorable on several counts. Allow me to explain:

(1) We are part of the LGBT, for now, and to think that a lesbian or gay person conducts herself in such a psychologically lethal manner toward another LGBT member is far, far worse than appalling. This applies mutually to everyone under the LGBT acronym.

(2) To reveal your trans status to an employer is so, so below the belt that it scrapes the floor. Perhaps your employer is aware, perhaps not. So much for job security. If this isn’t directed at one’s economic jugular vein, from behind one’s back, I don’t know what is.

(3) The email begins with details about a discussion outside of the workplace and having absolutely nothing to do with your employer, zero, zip, nada. How extremely childish and lethally vindictive, assuming this did occur, for a grownup to run to someone’s employer to tattle-tale about some off-duty grievance. This is beyond the adult pale.

(4) The charge that information security skills are being “used in social media” merely to type out a comment is so ludicrous that the rest of the email has absolutely zero credibility with me. When one makes an accusation, it begs for the elements of said accusation to be clearly stated. Such was not completed. Were information security skills truly required to populate social media sites with commentary, Facebook would, in several lifetimes never acquire almost a billion worldwide members, and neither would Twitter.

(5) Rape is a truly violent and despicable crime, no matter the victim. No matter the veracity of the conversation about said rape, the email fails to justify the validity of a complaint to Dana’s employer in that personal disagreement occurred off the employer’s clock. Dana, whatever her viewpoint in social media, was representing herself, not her employer.

(6) If in fact harassment has taken place on social media, the social media provider (web site) has jurisdiction, not any employer. Enforcement occurs through IP blocking , username blocking, or other means by the social media provider, not the employer. To avoid this entirely, provided social media access occurs at work, employers typically block social media sites. Nonetheless, accessing email or social media at work may be a policy violation, however commentary still represents the individual only, not the employer.

(7) All violence is deplorable and it is the quantifiable statistical amount of violence within civilized societies that, if excessive, transforms a civilized society to a completely uncivilized chaotic society. The very notion that within a set (males), one member (rapist) commits a violent act against a female such that the female victim is so devastated that she is eternally convinced that all members of that set (males) are predisposed to being rapists is so outside reality that immediate medical/psychological assistance becomes necessary. Phobia so acute should never result from an experience no matter how horrible that is representative of a sample of one. Incessant and persistent phobia has, does and will overtake a person’s ability to function within society that impairment will be the norm not the exception, no matter the target group of the phobia. Fear of all males in this instance is not grounded in reality, and neither is fear of any female who has a history of having been male. Elevated distrust is rational, wholesale male phobia is irrational.

(8) The very same standard used to pre-convict all males as sexual, violent predators can be used to smear every living human being, for criminal activity has been executed by every race, gender, age, sexual preference, etc. To think that this is the standard being used to persecute transgender persons merely for having been born male is such an extreme stretch that no person can retain objective credibility by upholding this unrealistic posit. The TERF movement, by claiming that males are responsible for much of the violence, are stating nothing new. My experience as a sworn enforcer need not be touted to verify such ubiquitously known UCR crime reporting statistics.

(9) What is new is the claim that all males have criminal proclivities and therefore transgender females, by virtue of having been born male, pose a threat to all females. Having been personally responsible for keeping innumerable females safe from physical harm since the age of 18, and having been born male, I advise those making such a claim to discard such a public exercise of futility. There simply is no credibility in convicting others of a crime when no such crime has taken place. To think that such inordinate amount of energy, here or elsewhere, must be expended to re-state statistical and realistic givens actually boggles the mind. Clearly, it reveals that there must be another malevolent ulterior motive behind the players obsessed with spinning sense out of nonsense.

Any person or group that engages in wholesale persecution of another person or group, regardless of the group’s affiliation is employing unlawful search & destroy tactics and must be held legally accountable. Disagreement, disapproval, and debate even if heated is to be expected. What is not expected is for a group to be so steeped with rage, that the result is an institutionalized well-orchestrated vendetta that employs psychological tactics so extreme that players not involved in whatever conflict are pulled into the theatrical vortex. This is nothing short of hate speech in writing, no matter the perpetrator, and bullying of the worst kind. It truly would be but theatrical were the consequences of such bullying not directly impact human lives so severely that the ability to survive is compromised.

What is particularly galling is that once the persecution begins to result in adverse effects, the relentless onslaught never abates, but becomes a crescendo so out of control that the victim is blamed for the series of events that actually led to the breakdown. Dana, I wish you strength and perseverance and that you reach a point of realization that as a community we need you in full strength. Please realize that getting knocked down is one thing, but staying down only serves to satiate blood lust.

The preceding applies equally to any person or group formally or informally structured who engages in the above strategies no matter how noble or honorable the cause. It thrills me to see disenfranchised groups within the entirety of the LGBT acronym actively pursue what should be default rights for all citizens, particularly the right of legal partnership referred to as marriage. Activism means just that, and “passivism” accomplishes nothing. Passion and effort behind LGBT activism that deviates to lateral warfare serves only the enemies of LGBT equality and no one else. The implosion of the LGBT house will destroy the very structure that is in place now, and toward this end I address it.

Thank you so much for this comment! This took a lot of time and effort and I appreciate it. I sent her a cease and desist letter last Friday and have not received any confirmation yet that it was delivered. I hope she signs it so I can begin to heal. A message was posted to another person’s blog from what appears to be Cathy’s wordpress account saying she wished all trans women were dead. A friend of mine has told me she said this to her in person a while back. Personally, I believe she does want us dead. Then I found out that the message was posted from a cellphone and the IP address resolved to being near Philly. PTSD paranoia set in and I barricaded my door for most of the day until I talked to my doctor which calmed me down a bit. Do I think that she would actually use physical force to end my life? No, I do not. But when having PTSD made me truly fear for my life. It was absolutely horrific.

I contacted the District Attorney before sending her the letter. They told me I must first do this before pressing criminal charges against her. If she refuses to sign I have literally no choice but to pursue criminal charges against her and hopefully a restraining order that will force her to stop interfering in my personal life. She is using the police, my employer and my own doctor as a proxy to further traumatize me and this MUST stop. I can’t live like this.

Once this has been completed, or maybe sooner, I am filing a Maryland Bar complaint against her which will be around 400 pages (guesstimation). Once that is done I then need to address the libel. I have proof of the libel and proof of damages.

I gave her 3 chances to contact me stating she would no longer meddle with my life and got no response. sooo, here we are.

Mary Ellen Sikes

I’m so very sorry to hear you’ve had to endure this campaign of hatred and abuse. You are courageous to write about it here, and I hope you will post updates. Thank you for your strength and bravery!

Sally Strange

I have not experienced this, but I would like to express my support and appreciation. And admiration for your having the courage to go over all this again.

Annie Barchetta

“However, I know that I’m not the only person who’s faced
this level of enmity. If you’ve suffered because of similar attacks,
I’d love to hear from you. “

I have. The person who instigated it, with her TERF
friends GallusMag and a certain liar, er, lawyer from Maryland, is known as Dana Lane
Taylor., although I was stupid enough to hand you the chance to do so on a
silver platter. I had no clue who you were at that time, nor had I ever heard
of the website you proudly (by your own admission on your blog) fed information
to.

I don’t think you deserve what that certain
not-to-be-named liar from Maryland has done/is doing to you, any more than I
deserved what you did to me. I don’t wish PTSD or panic attacks on anyone. I don’t wish time spent on a shrink’s couch on anyone. However, I recognize that snakes can shed their skin and still be snakes. My first thought on reading this article is of crocodile tears, with a certain level
of suspicion that you might well still be allied with GallusMag and her
satraps. I cannot trust or forgive you, the TERFs you play(ed) footsie with, or
Gannett Inc. I never will forgive
you for the snide remarks on your blog that doubted my public apology and
expressed fear that I’d actually waste vacation time and gasoline in voyage to
whatever crappy city you live to assault you, and I have to wonder what the grubstake
was for you ($$$$ for the ol’ surgery fund, possibly?) to go after someone you
don’t know. I believe that you’re one of the breed of scum suckers who, like hackers, use computers and the Internet as a weapon, not as tools of good, and your attacks on people in service to the GallusHags of the world was an outgrowth of that.

That stated, you have nothing to fear from me. You, and your friends in the TERF bowel movement are not worth my time, now that I’ve cleared my throat. Since I no longer engage in any
particular activism, beyond the occasional public curse of the 2 reactionary fools that
purport to represent me in the Senate.
I prefer using my vacation time to visit places that uplift me, like
Ireland and the Coachella Valley, not to places like Philthadelphia and Maryland.
Don’t bother to apologize, since, just as you didn’t believe in the sincerity
of my apology, I will never believe in the sincerity of yours. Dana Lane
Taylor. If others wish to consider
you a transgender activist, they’re welcome to be stupid and trusting., but I
wouldn’t recommend it and never will trust any words you write or utter. I don’t see how you belong on Transadvocate, but that’s someone else’s decision to make.

With that, Ms. Taylor, I hope certain liars from Maryland decide to leave you in peace, as I shall.

Nicole Joliet

You know, I think that if you had made an apology that was in any way sincere you would also understand that you being rightfully associated with a hateful, cult-like group known to engage in stalking, and thus rightfully feared as a potential stalker, does not IN ANY WAY compare to the harassment described above.

Oh well. -shrug- Your comment serves as another piece of evidence that those who ally with the TERFs consider themselves and their beloved cult entitled to an immaculate reputation no matter what they do, and that the appropriate response to any criticism is just a wall of gaslighting, smoke and mirrors, with a dash of public-relations flourish to make sound legitimate. This is, after all, not a discussion; heavens no, it is a crusade against the evil heretical “transgender activist[s]” who seek to confound the masses and drive them away from the divinely revealed Truth of TERF infallibility.

It seems to me you’ve got a interesting opportunity to file an harassment case.

I don’t know what the laws regarding harassment are in Pennsylvania, but it would be worth looking into; in New York, it appears as if this kind of behavior would nowadays qualify for a Class A Misdemeanor charge bringing up to a year in jail (though note: I Am Not A Lawyer: Der Brennanista is, and presumably she’s scoped out the legal terrain in PA before engaging in this concerted – and epically stupid, given the participants? – effort at harassment).

I sent her a cease and desist letter which I hope she will sign. If she signs it then I can start to heal a bit. If she doesn’t, then I have no other choice but to take legal action. I have just been connected to a group of legal experts who can give me advice on how to tackle this. I suspect I will have to go to the Philadelphia District Attorney to file charges. They were the ones that told me I must first send a cease and desist letter.